Pop Magazine; 'Smash Hits'
SmashHits! is a pop magazine that was founded in 1978 by Nick Logan. It orginally was only published monthly, but after 3 issues it moved to fortnightly due to its huge demand. It allowed journalists to break though, along with musical talents. During the period of SmashHits! if a artist appeared on the front they had finally made it. After 28 years of the magazine, in 2006, it folded and is no longer published. However, this makes me question why it folded? Was it due to the fact that people were no longer intrested in pop magazines due to internet and types of technology like iPhones and iPods becoming increasingly popular. This may decrease the chance of me producing a pop magazine because the market may be smaller in this case, even though pop is the most popular genre. This may effect the final choice I decide to make.
Analysing The Magazine
When you first initially look at the magazine you can automatically see its a magazine from the pop genre due to the images and colours used. The magazine automatically attracts you to it, and is jam packed to begin with, making you want to read closer to find out what the magazine offers you.
The mast head is SmashHits! which is all together and has an exclamation mark at the end. The colours used are green and white with a black border around them, making them stand out. Although, the image covers the mast head slightly, in some cases, magazines believe the mast head should be clear and easy to see, where as here they have chosen to cover it slightly.
Due to this, the image is the main aspect of the page and the first thing you recognise rather than the title. The image is of Avril and Pink, both artists have dominated in music over the years and have been compared to each other. The image portrays this by showing them imitating punching. This shows the 'battle' between them and also shows the rocky type of attitude they portray. This co-insides with the main headline 'Avril V Pink - who'll win the battle of the rock chicks?' proving that the main story in the magazine is about them to and comparison of the two. However, due to image being very large and dominating, this title is quite small. Although, to make up for this, the font is large and bold in black and the yellow and blue both stand out clearly on the pink background which substitutes the fact its not very large, although it stands out in comparison to other aspects.
There are many cover lines throughout the magazine, some more dominant than others. For example, the splash, 'Aaaaargh Cringe' stands out due to the capital letters and the bright green used along with the bold white text on the green. For me, this is one of the most recognisable things when you look at the front cover even though it may not be the key part of the magazine, it stands out more than the mast head.
Another dominate cover line is the 'Free' shown on the left emphasises the element of the free gifts with the magazine as its used as a way to promote the magazine. This may show further thats its a pop magazine as the age range is much larger and the genre attracts a larger range of ages. By including free things with the magazine it attracts the younger as group, for example, they may only buy it for the free gifts. However, this all shows aspects of the pop genre.
Overall, I think the image automatically makes the page look busier and due to the extreme colours such as pink, blue, green and white which are all very bright and outrageous it makes it even busier. I don't think this makes it a good magazine cover though. I think this would be an area I would improve on because even though I think having a main image is good, I think it is far too much on the cover. Due to the pop genre attracting all different ages, I think this affects the type of magazine that is made.
What is the typical content?
- Free gifts; this attracts the younger demographic to buy the magazine because thats an aspect they would be intrested in. Pop magazines have a harder job due to the wider demographic they have to attract.
- The latest of different celebrities; Pop genre and culture means that artists obviously become massive alot of the time due to the mainstream intrest the genre has. This means that people want to know about celebrities and artists.
- Information on new/different artists; Looking at the brief history it shows that if someone got on the front cover of smash hits, they had potentially 'made it' in the industry. So, it shows the main feature being Pink and Avril Lavinge, obviously both popular artists at their prime time.
- Posters; Including posters is also typical content as many people like to put pictures of their favourite artists and musicians on display. Particually in a pop magazine, because they are stereotypically 'good looking' people will be attracted to them.
Who is the typical reader?
As i've indicated throughout, the typical demographic for pop is wider than many other genres due to it being very mainstream and 'popular'. This means the typical reader ranges from younger ages such as 8, up to late teens of possibly 17. This is why its hard for the magazine to remain appealing to all of the demographic.
What is your chosen magazines' housestyle?
Housestyle is where a magazine repeatedly uses a similar structure when producing their magazines. For example, the content of pictures, logos, fonts, and colours used. The majority of magazines use this to distinguish the 'look' of the magazine. This enables readers to realise quickly whether they would be intrested in buying that type of magazine.
In this case, in SmashHits! the housestyle is the large image that takes over a proportion of the mast head, although the image doesn't always take up the mast head, the majority of the time there is a main image on the magazine.
The font that SmashHits! is in is always the same, just a different colour showing continuity throughout the magazine so it's easy to recognize to viewers.
Another housestyle is the more 'immature' aspect of the magazine. Due to the colours used and the attitude and text, its easy to see that its based at the younger more immature demographic, possibly because pop isnt noticed as a 'mature' taste of music in comparison to other genres.
Who produces and distributes your magazine?
EMAP produced and distributed the magazine, as it ran from 1978-2006 and was distributed fortnightly.
How are social groups represented in your magazine?
Social groups are represented as very stereotypically, due to the large mainstream demographic of pop music in todays music industry. The pop genre is popular in comparison to other genres and this is evident in the attitude shown judging by the magazine. Evidently, just from judging the front cover, it is clear to see that they have a far larger target audience and this possibly affect the quality of their magazine.
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NMEThe NME has been published weekly since March 1952, beginning as a music newspaper but moved to a magazine format, changing from news print in 1988. It was British best selling music newspaper in 1970s. The first issue was published on 7th March 1952. In May 2008 the magazine had a re-design and was aimed at an older relationship and less poppy. Circulation of the magazine has fallen since 2003, this could once more be again due to the internet and most information being easier to get from there and other appliances such as iPods.
Analysing the Magazine
Elements of this magazine automatically stand out due to the bold and bright colours used. The main colour scheme is red, black, white, yellow and blue, all these stand out on the background picture. The main headline is in white and yellow on the dark coloured area of the picture to ensure it stands out. The font is also the biggest area on the page making it stand out.
The image re-enforces the main feature of the magazine, that being The Wombats. It also shows them as care-free, showing the type of genre it is, showing the genre being care free, festival type of music. Showing the festival type aspect of the genre is shown by the title banner of 'GLASTO' in bold black text on yellow, making it noticeable and beginning the idea of Glastonbury.
The 'NME' is bold in red with a white and black border ensuring it stands out. The masthead is at the left of the page rather than the middle, but it's still noticeable. The image is the main aspect but your attention is still drawn to the title. Although, unlike SmashHits! the image is underneath the initial title rather than over the top.
The cover lines at the right, shows two bands in bold capital letters with a brief quote underneath meaning people want to read more because they have an idea of what the article is about and what the magazine is likely to show.
Even though this magazine is still quite busy, due to the colours used and the way the magazine has been set out, along with the image used, it has a far better effect. I think the effect of the image being underneath the mast head is more effective because it looks far less 'busier' and clearer. Its evident what the magazine is. In some cases that technique could be effective but I think its effective to keep it simple and informative rather than trying to get lots of information on to one page.
By also keeping the colours of fonts and text simple and not changing midway through a part of text its more effective and looks far more professional. I think I would also keep the same theme and aspect of font colours. For example, the cover lines at the right and left all have white on blue.
Overall, I think this magazine cover is far more effective than SmashHits! because the colours have been used far better by keeping to the same sort of themes. Due to the image being behind the mast head its far clearer to the audience and attractive due to the more simple aspect. The font is clear and easy to read, standing out on the page against the image showing the main article in the magazine.
What is the typical content?
Upcoming new bands; This gains publicity for the band and draws attention to what theyre doing at the moment but also shows who is big in the genre at the present point.
Festival Information; The genre is stereotypically known for its fans to be intrested in attenting festivals due to their lifestyle and their taste in music, also the smaller yet subjective demographic. They are seen as a more mature audience that would enjoy going to festivals. Bands and artists from indie rock are often associated with festivals.
Updates on bands; The front cover shows thats there are interviews from successful bands such as MUSE and Panic at the disco. These bands are both successful in the genre so people will want to know whats up and coming and happening with them. This also allows the bands to get more publicity.
New Music; Unlike SmashHits! where the artist has 'made it' if they get on the front of the magazine, in this genre it promotes new music. This is due to the music not really being mainstream and indiviuals doing it their own way. People have to make an effort to find the good music and apprieate it more.
Who is the typical reader?
As i've indicated before, the general intrest in this genre is a far mature audience. This means the typical reader will be of an older age in comparison to the pop genre. For example, people in their late teens to their 30's who have more disposable income to attend events such as festivals to listen to this 'proper' music.
What is your chosen magazines housestyle?
In comparison to SmashHits! this magazine has a far more 'mature' approach, proving the type of demographic theyre aiming at. For example, the colours are far less drastic, with blue, white and yellow. They still stand out to the audience but don't clash and make the magazine look too busy unlike SmashHits!
The font used is simple and pretty much the same all the way through and the image used doesn't cover the mast head making the magazine look far simpler and not as 'immature'. The main title is also simple and kept in simple colours of red, white and black to ensure its noticable and stands out to the audience.
Who produces and distributes your magazine?
IPC Media produce and distribute the magazine, these are the leading consumer magazine publishing company. This shows the standard of the magazine and why its' successful.
What social groups are represented in your magazine?
The social groups represented are those that don't want to be 'one of the crowd' and follow the stereotype and mainstream attitude of pop which is the main genre. They want to listen to 'real' music and enjoy it, instead of just listening to a song for its 'beat'.
The social groups are possibly those that like to attend festivals as I have highlighted earlier on.
Wow, Sophie you have gone into so much detail, and agree with your last comment.
ReplyDeleteHave you decided on what genre you are doing yet?